Since last month's NYT-CBS News poll, GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain's support among women has dropped from 28 percent to 15 percent, which spells trouble for the embattled candidate, columnist Jonathan Capehart blogs at the Washington Post. The drop comes in the wake of several sexual harassment accusations against him.
May I state the obvious? The Herman Cain campaign for the Republican nomination for president is running out of gas. Sure, he's still topping some polls. The New York Times/CBS News poll released Friday puts him up at the top (18 percent) of a three-way race with Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Both earned the support of 15 percent of Republican primary voters. It should be noted that "undecided/don't know" actually came in second with 17 percent. But that same poll shows the first concrete sign of trouble for the former capo of Godfather's Pizza from a key demographic group: women.
Gloria Cain, the embattled candidate's wife, told Greta Van Susteren in an interview that is scheduled to air tonight on Fox News Channel that her husband "totally respects women." Well, their respect or fondness for him is diminishing. The NYT-CBS News survey was conducted last week just as Sharon Bialek emerged to put a face on the numerous allegations of sexual harassment against Cain. Sixty-one percent of respondents said the accusations against Cain "won't make any difference in their vote." Thirty percent said the charges "make them less likely to back him." But among women that latter number is 38 percent. And since last month's NYT-CBS News poll, Cain's support among women has dropped from 28 percent to 15 percent.
If he's having this kind of trouble with Republican women helping to decide who will be their party's nominee, he's doomed with the dames who will help decide who will be their nation's next president.
Read Jonathan Capehart's entire blog entry at the Washington Post.